WR Hakeem Nicks wins Player of the Week

WR Hakeem Nicks wins NFC Offensive Player of the Week

Hakeem Nicks has been selected as the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his outstanding performance last week in the Giants’ 41-34 comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Nicks caught 10 passes for a career-high 199 yards, including a 23-yard reception for the Giants’ first touchdown and a 50-yarder to set up Andre Brown’s game-winning score. It was the third time Nicks caught at least 10 passes in a regular-season game; his career high is 12 at Houston on Oct. 10, 2010. He also had 10 receptions in the Giants’ victory over New England in Super Bowl XLVI.

His previous career-high yardage total was 165 at Green Bay in the 2011 NFC Divisional Playoff Game and his regular-season best was 163 at Dallas on Dec. 11, 2011.

Nicks’ 199 receiving yards were the sixth-highest total in franchise history and the most by a Giants receiver since Plaxico Burress had 204 yards vs. St. Louis on Oct. 2, 2005.

The Giants’ other starting receiver, Victor Cruz, caught 11 passes for 179 yards. The Giants were the first team in NFL history with two players with at least 10 catches and at least 175 receiving yards in the same game.

It was just the second time in their history the Giants had two receivers with at least 10 catches in the same game. On Sept. 20, 2009 at Dallas, Mario Manningham had 10 receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown and Steve Smith had 10 catches for 134 yards and a score.

In addition, Eli Manning passed for 510 yards. Manning, Cruz and Nicks joined three Hall of Famers – quarterback Norm Van Brocklin and receivers Elroy (Crazy Legs) Hirsh and Tom Fears of the 1951 Los Angeles Rams - as the only teammates in history with 500 passing yards, plus two receivers with at least 150 yards, in the same game. The Rams’ trio accomplished the feat on Sept. 28, 1951 vs. the New York Yanks.

The Giants had two Offensive Player of the Week award winners in 2011 – Manning in Week 3 at Philadelphia and running back Ahmad Bradshaw vs. Buffalo in Week 6. Nicks is the first Giants wide receiver to win the award since Burress in Week 4 of the 2005 season after a victory over St. Louis.